Lubricator



2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(N0 Model.)

\ W. P. PHILLIPS.

LUBRIGATR. No. 249,543. Patented Nov. 15,1881.

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2. W. P. PHILLIPS.

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' W'ILLAM P. PHILLIPS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LUBRICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Iletters Patent No. 249,543, dated November 15, 1881.

Application inea March 18,1881. (No model.)

To all 'whom it may concern j Beit known that I, WILLIAM P. PHILLIPS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, Oommon wealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricators, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements relate to that class of lubricators constructed forusewith steam-en gines in the lubrication of cylinders, piston-rods, and valves thereof, and especiail y to theclass known as indicatin g-lubricators,7 consisting of an oilrescrvoir and a water-chamber with transparent walls, through which the oil `passes drop by drop in the course of its passage from the reservoir to the steam pipe or chestwith the connections thereof; and the objects of my improvements are to so arrange and construct the apparatus as to give it a secure and convenient position by means of its attachment to the steam-pipe without the use of brackets or other supports, and to make it more compact and to enable it to be constructed at less eX- pense than the nearest related formsnow in use; and the nature of my invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a segment of steam-pipe and connections with a contrivance embodying my improvements in vertical section; and Fig. 2 shows the same with the vertical section at right angles to the plane of that in Fig. 1.

A is a steam-pipe leading tothe Steamchest. A' A' is a smaller pipe opening into the pipe A at one end and extending downward to the hollow elbow A2, to which it is connected by means of thecoupling a5. Thejoint or elbow A2 contains a valve-stem, a2, with its handle a4, its valve a3 tted` inside the joint A2 andheld therein by means of the screw-caps a' a6, and so constructed with its internal cavity, a, that when the handle a4 is turned the valve a3 is withdrawn from its seat by means of the thread on the stem a2, and a continuous passage is allowed from the pipe A' to and through the elbow A2.

B is an oil-reservoir, having an opening at the top b, which is fitted and covered by means of the plug b'. To one side of it is connected a pipe, B', the cavity in which forms a channel from the reservoir B, through it, and into the tube' B2, which continues the channel into the point or elbow B3, having an internal cavity, the channel bein gcontinued, as before, through this joint B3 only by means of the small tube or nipple b2, which extends within the waterchamber C. The water-chamber Gis in a glass tube or transparent cylindrical wall held at the bottom to the joint B3 by means of a coupling, c, and packing c', and held at its upper end by means of the coupling c2 c3 to the joint G2, which latter contains a cavity, B4, for oil, and has an opening in its upper end fitted and closed by means of the cock G'. The glass tube is so held by means of the couplings and packings referred to in the joints as to allow expansion by heat, to prevent its cracking. From the joint C2 extends a small tube, B5, within a larger tube, B', and through the length of the latter and across the openingin the top of the reservoir B into the pipe BG on the opposite side of the reservoir-neck, and by its internal bore forms a continuous channel from the cavityB"g to the pipe B6. Y

The construction and adaptation of the pipes B' and B5 are such as to form one channel through the middle of another channel, the end of the tube B', which is connected with the joint C2, being entirely closed so far as its own channel is concerned, as shown in thedraw-` ings, Fig. V1.

The pipe B6, for convenience of making and adjusting, may be constructed in two parts, as@ shown, united by the coupling b2, connected at one end with the oil-reservoir B and at the other end with the steam-pipe A; and it contains between the reservoir and the steam-pipe a valve, b3, operated by the handle h", by which the channel 4through it may be opened `and closed. Y D is a hollow plug inserted in the bottoni of the reservoir B, or it may be made as a part thereof. d is a nipple or opening from the reservoir B, the inner end ot' which is somewhat above the bottom of the reservoir, in order to prevent the falling of sediment which will unavoidabl y collect in such areservoir and through it upon the valve-seat below.

D' is a hollow valve-steni,having a handle operating bya thread in the plug D, having a valve, d2, and cavities d3 d4, and so constructed that when it is turned home it forces the valve to its seat and entirely closes the opening ex- IOO 'a 2495er.

tending through it to the reservoir B, and when it is turned so as to withdraw the valve from its seat it allows a continuous passage from the reservoir B to and through it by means of its cavities.

The operation ot' this contrivance is as follows: First, making two threaded taps in the steam-pipe A, I insert in the upper tap the threaded end of the pipe A' A', and in the lower tap the threaded end of the pipe BG, the remainder of the apparatus being rigidly secured together, as shown and described. I couple theremainderof the apparatus on'byconnectin g the two parts of the pipe B6 by means ot' the coupling b2, and connect the lower end ot' the pipe A. with the joint A2 by the coupling a5. I the'n, by withdrawing the cock b', the cock D' being closed and the valve a3 `being closed, till the reservoir B with oil, and return the cock b' to its place. I then, the valve b3 bein g closed, remove the cock C and till the reservoir with water nearly to the top, replacing the cool; C'. Having attached the apparatus properly and prepared it for opera-tion, the steam being on in the pipe A, I open the valves a3 and b5, and the steam, entering the pipe A' A', eoudenses therein and enters the oil-reservoir B at the bottom, pressing the oil into andilirough the tube B' B2, cavity in B5, and nipple b2, from which oil escapes drop by drop and passes upward through the water in the chamber C into the cavity B4 at the top. rlhence the oil passes through the ytubes B5 BG into the steanilpipe A and is carried along with the steam into the chest and cylinders, lubricating .all the parts, as desiredl The rate ot feed ot' the oil is indicated by the number of drops a minute passing from the smaller nipple b2 through the water in the chamber C, and may be lessened or increased by regulating the valve a5 so as to increase or diminish the access of water to the reservoir B. This arrangement of the smaller tube B5 within the tube B' and across the top of the oilreservoir, with the connections nd adaptations made accordingly, saves considerable outside tubing an d strengthens the attachmentof the apparatus to the steam-pipe; and when the whole is properly constructed in this way no bracket or other support is necessary for the reservoir or indicator other than the attachment to the steam-pipe.

It is obvious that by carrying the pipe A' to -the top ofthe lubricator only, and attaching it there with an extension by. means of a small tube inside, to or near the bottom of the reservoir, with the valve a3 located lby adaptation accordingly, a modification could be made by which part of the outside tube, A', might be dispensed with, and I consider it an equivalent ot' the form shown; but the form shown is preferable, both for the sake of economy in construction and for better cooling` and condensingof the steam in the pipe A'. e

I am aware ot' Letters Patent Nos. 140,270, 2l4,31l, and 229,242, and I do not claim anything described or shown therein.

I claim as new and of my invention- 1. A lubricator consisting of an oil-reservoir and a water-reservoir, with pipes and connections soconstructed and arranged, as described, that the circnitot oil from the former through the latter is conducted by means of one external connection between. them, substantially as described.'

2.- In a lubricator, the combination ot' the oilreservoir B, water-chamber@ and tubes B'. B2, B5, and B5, constructed and arranged substan- Atiallyas set forth.

3. In an indicating-lubr1eator, the feeding pipe B5, passing through the oil-pipe B', reservoir B, and connect-ing with the steam-'pipe through the tube BG, essentially as set l'orth.

4. The described indicating-lubricator, consisting ot'an oil-reservoir and a tube having a valve within it to be connected with the steam pipe or chest ot' an engine, and a water-reservoir outside ot' the oil-reservoir, and connected therewith by an oil-approach pipe and an oilreturn pipe, one within the other, a tube lconl necting said oil-approach pipe with the bottom of the water-reservoir, and a connection between the top of the water-reservoir and the oil-return pipe, the oil-return pipe being coutinued through and across the upper part ofthe oil-reservoir, and with an extension on the opposite side of the oil-reservoir containing a valve and tube to beconnected with the steam pipe or chest ot the engine for the delivery of oil and as a support of the lubricator, all constructed and adapted essentially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

5. An indicator for a lubricator, consisting of a glass chamber, C, and couplings and connections, constructed and arranged to be outside of the oil-reservoir and with a single connection for reception and delivery of oil and support thereon, substantially as set forth.

w. P. PHILLIPsi Witnesses:

CHARLES E. PRATT, H. I. NASH.

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